In the closing titles it says: "Dedicated to all the former angels, but especially to Yasujiro, François and Andrej." This refers to film directors Yasujirô Ozu, François Truffaut, and Andrei Tarkovsky. All were favorites of director Wim Wenders. At the time of this movie's filming, Truffaut and Tarkovsky had only recently passed away, in 1984 and 1986, respectively; Ozu died in 1963.
One day during the production of Der Himmel über Berlin (1987), Peter Falk went missing. He had never visited Berlin before and took long walks through the city, taking in the sights and meeting people. The producers finally tracked him down in a small café. Falk was so enchanted with the experience of making this film he stayed in Berlin an extra week after his role was finished, at his own expense, hoping he would get additional scenes to play.
All of the black & white sequences were shot through a one-of-a-kind filter made from a stocking that belonged to cinematographer Henri Alekan's grandmother.
Filming the actual Berlin Wall was prohibited, so a replica of the wall twice had to be built close to the original. The first fake wall warped in the rain because the contractor cheated the producers and built it from wood.
Peter Falk called his role in Der Himmel über Berlin (1987) "the craziest thing I was ever offered", but accepted after a phone call from director Wim Wenders. When Wenders told him his part had not been developed yet, Falk responded, "I've worked that way with John Cassavetes. I prefer working without a script".
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